There’s this thing about life right now and it can pretty much be summed up in four words:

I NEED MORE TIME.

I have wholeheartedly accepted the position I am in, or rather, that I am no longer in. I’m no longer in my early 20’s where time was very much readily available to me. When I could make plans, change plans, sleep more, work out longer, take nice relaxing showers, stroll the aisles of stores, have nice + long discussions with my husband or even snuggle with him on the couch… you get the picture. We all had more time then. Where I’m at in life now doesn’t allow for quite that much availability of time. I’ve hunkered down to schedules of running to and from preschool, swimming lessons, dance class, doctor appointments, grocery runs, work deadlines, blogging timelines, my husband’s business travel and more. I know you know what I’m talking about.

I’m sure you if you know me by now, you know I’m not going to just stand and let life pass me by – or let time get sucked away. I’m going to take some control and do my very best to make the most of the situation that is in front of me. So, while you may still hear me say I NEED MORE TIME, I did come up with some solutions so I’m not always feeling so desperate for it.

 

How I Create More Time in My Day

| 1 | I Became A Morning Person

I’m just going to jump right in here and hopefully not scare you away: Wake up. Early. Does 5a sound scary to you? Sometimes it’s scary to me – especially when it’s winter in Wisconsin, which means it’s dark + cold and quite literally still feels like the middle of the night. I assure you that these morning hours are precious in terms of productivity. If you get up and get going, you can gain at least an hour of time in your day. Whether you use that as time for yourself, to get a jump start on laundry, to work out or just get a head start on work for the day, IT WILL BE WORTH IT.

Disclaimer: There was a time that I literally could not do this. It was not at all feasible given the amount of hours I was not sleeping at night due to sick children, breastfeeding, etc.. If you set the intention to become a morning person, give yourself grace. There will certainly be days that sleep (or rest) become the priority and you will be better for choosing that.

| 2 | I Maximize Mundane Tasks

I want more time with my husband. There, I said it. I do. Mark and I both keep talking about it, yet we realize this has to come with a shift in perspective of the time we do get to spend together (other than date nights). What can we do, together, to maximize the household tasks we do together? Or even just when we are playing with our kids? Simple ideas: TALK while you are cleaning the house, emptying the dishwasher or folding laundry. ENJOY each other’s company while you’re doing puzzles with your kids or having living room dance parties. TEXT while you’re away from one another working or taking care of kids just to stay in touch.

| 3 | I Listen to Audiobooks + Podcasts

Simply put, I do not have time to sit down and read a book. I actually have a really good one I started last May. I cannot finish it for the life of me. I’ve turned to listening to audiobooks and podcasts because it literally buys time back for me. Where I used to sit down to read, I can now listen while I’m driving, walking, working out, showering, folding laundry, etc. I honestly think this strategy to create more time is two-fold: it buys back time allowing you free hands to do other things simultaneously AND it can be SO uplifting if you choose the right messages to listen to.

Do you have Audible yet? If not, I highly recommend you get it immediately. The basic membership comes with one book a month and is entirely worth it. {Get Audible here!} A few books you may want to start with: Present Over Perfect, Of Mess and Moxie and You Are A Bad Ass.

| 4 | I Exercise

I know you’ve heard this a million times by now, but truly, if you take the time to exercise your body and mind will be better for it. And that better body and mind will be happier, more energized, more productive and not be as tired during the day. You may even sleep better at night! I no longer have the time to exercise as long as I used to, but by choosing the right workouts, I get the same (or better) results. My mindset for workouts here: Let It Go. PS – If you are pregnant, I highly recommend the Expecting + Empowered Fitness Guides which are great for the appropriate exercises formulated to take the perfect amount of time for busy mamas.

| 5 | I Write Priority Lists Daily

I start every day by having a priority list of things to do that is no more than 3-5 bullet points long. Could I make a list of a million things to do? Of course. But, I want to ensure I’m using my time wisely + not scrambling and thinking “what is it that I have to do today?!” when I have a few moments to actually accomplish something. Plus, this makes me FEEL better about my day. Rather than look at a lengthy list of what I didn’t accomplish, I can feel good that I did get the major things crossed off that needed to be done that day.

Note: I’m currently using the Day Designer by Blue Sky planner and it has a section specifically for this!

| 6 | I Implemented the 5 Minute Or Less Rule

I’m out of practice of this right now, so typing it out is surely a good reminder. I really intend to do the things that will take me 5 minutes or less in the moment I can do them. Example: If I have wrapping paper out for a birthday present upstairs, I take it down to put away in the basement right after use – rather than put it on the basement steps where I’d like to just leave it. Sure leaving it on the steps seems incredibly easy and more convenient for my lazy self, but putting it away right away, saves time later. Because eventually, I would have 20 things on the basement steps that all need to be sorted through and then put away, taking much longer than it originally would have.

 

| 7 | I Stick to My Clean Kitchen Secrets + The Clean House Rules

Pretty straight forward. If you stick to My Clean Kitchen Secrets + Clean House Rules, your actual cleaning (as in deep cleaning) days will be so much faster and easier. You won’t be spending time de-cluttering or finding where things belong.

|8| I’ve become more comfortable with outsourcing.

Do you really want to get time back? Find someone or something to help you save it in the ways that mean the most to you. For a while we had a woman cleaning our house. It was definitely something we had to discuss and fit into our budget, but you know what? It saved me SO much time (and stress because it was always stressful trying to actually fit in a deep clean) that the cost was worth it. Another way I outsourced was by utilizing our babysitter over the summer for one morning a week so that I could have dedicated work hours. I could count on that time to be productive, and then I was able to be more present + run the girls around to their summer activities and enjoy the summer weather with them while I was home. Outsourcing quite literally buys back your time.

 

I’m really not any sort of magical mama actually creating more than 24 hours in a day. If it was possible, I would surely be on a quest to figure it out. But, I am a mama who needs to make the most of her days. Some days are far more productive than others, but I do my best to make every day count. And in a season that is filled with unpredictability (sick kids, fussy babies) and is entirely busy (commitments, work, business trips) that is oh so important.

 

Sending you lots of love + the gift of time!

XO

 

PS- Special thank you to Katie Bingen Photography for saying “Do you want a picture in the snow?” and then snapping this gem. Girl, you are talented.

 

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